Many have tried but few have succeeded in creating an alternative football league that is capable of competing with the extremely popular NFL. The UFL, a joint league between the former XFL and USFL, was hoping that there would be enough interest for two league’s to prosper in the country. That, however, does not seem to be the case.
Per a recent piece from Pro Football Talk, the league has struggled to reach the numbers many had expected from the newly formed league.
The Birmingham Stallions faced the Memphis Showboats on Saturday and despite hosting the game at a 47,000 plus capacity stadium, only 12,265 fans were present to see the home team’s 33-14 victory. The Michigan Panthers week 2 matchup against the Stallions had just 7,475 people in attendance.
UFL attendance sputters for cities other than St. Louis. https://t.co/GwE8huIx0c
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) April 14, 2024
Last week, Memphis drew just 8,791 fans to the Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium to see them face off against the San Antonio Brahmas.
The article does highlight the St. Louis Battlehawks as one of the league’s few bright spots when it comes to attendance figures. St. Louis saw 40,317 fans show up to The Dome at America’s Center last week.
The XFL and USFL joined forces last year to create a blockbuster eight-team league that was capable of drawing in big crowds. Despite having some big cities committed to the project, the UFL is yet to take off as many had expected.
